Officially opened by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 18 November 2009, construction on Capital Wind Farm began in early 2008, with the wind farm becoming fully operational in October 2009.

The project is almost five times the size of any other comparable wind farm in New South Wales, consisting of 67 Suzlon S88 2.1 megawatt (MW) turbines with a total installed capacity of 141 MW.

“Wind energy accounts for over a third of all new electricity generation capacity being built in Europe each year and reached over 40 per cent of all new generation installed in the United States in 2008.

“In Australia we are moving in the same direction with the key driver here being the expanded Renewable Energy Target legislation, recently passed by the Federal Parliament,” said Infigen Energy Managing Director Miles George at the wind farm’s opening.

The site

Located near Bungendore in New South Wales, the wind farm is spread across the Hammonds, Ellendon and Groses Hill ridgelines. While the wind farm covers more than 35 square kilometres, the turbines themselves occupy less than one hectare of land.

According to Infigen, the area has a wind farm capacity factor of 36percent, with a diurnal profile that is strong at peak usage times.

Technical details

The Suzlon S88 2.1 turbines have internal controls that monitor the wind direction and speed, with electricity production beginning at winds above 14 kilometres per hours (km/h), or 4 metres per second (m/s).

The amount of electricity produced continues to increase until the turbines reach maximum or ‘rated’ capacity (2.1 MW) at wind speeds of around 40 km/h (11 m/s). Stronger winds do not make the blades turn faster. The blades rotate at regular 15 – 18 revolutions per minute and operate at capacity until the wind speed reaches 90 km/h. Beyond this wind speed, the turbines automatically shut down and turn out of the wind.

The electricity generated at Capital is fed directly into the TransGrid network via an onsite substation, with the majority of output contracted to supply to the Sydney Desalination Plant. The Desalination Plant will provide up to 15 per cent of Sydney’s water supply, with delivery beginning this summer. It will be wholly powered by renewable energy from the Capital Wind Farm.

Environmental benefits

The wind farm will generate around 450,000 (MWh) of renewable energy each year, which is equivalent to satisfying the energy needs of approximately 60,000 homes.

This level of renewable energy generation represents a saving of around 400,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases per year – greenhouse gases which would have otherwise been emitted from conventional energy technologies. It is also equivalent to removing over 85,000 cars from Australian roads each year.

Employment and training

At the peak of construction activity, the Capital Wind Farm provided direct employment for over 120 people on the site, with up to 10 people directly employed for ongoing operation and maintenance.

The project is also employing Australia’s first wind farm apprentices. From a pool of 700 applicants, 10 apprentices were selected, and they have been involved in the turbine installation. Turbine manufacturer Suzlon worked with RMIT to train Australia’s first electrical apprentices with a particular focus on wind farms.

Infigen Energy, the owner of Capital Wind Farm, owns and operates wind farms in Australia, the United States, Germany and France. In July 2009, Infigen acquired Babcock and Brown International’s Australian and New Zealand wind energy project development assets. The company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in October 2005.

Infigen Energy’s existing Australian portfolio consists of the Lake Bonney 1, Lake Bonney 2 and Lake Bonney 3 wind farms in South Australia’s southeast, and Alinta wind farm in the midnorthwest of Western Australia.